Ross Fawcett and Rebecca Johnson were fastest male and female riders as Essex Roads CC staged their hill-climb near South Woodham Ferrers in Essex on Saturday.
Fawcett, the Pedal Power Ipswich rider, clocked 2:08.4 for the climb, giving him the win by just over one second from London Phoenix CC’s Martin Smith, while Ryan Witchell (Team Sales Engine) was another five seconds back in third.
And in the women’s category, Rebecca Johnson (XRT Elmy Cycles) clocked 2:32.3 to win by around 20 seconds from Katie-Ann Elliston (Southend Wheelers), with Jennifer Andrews (CC Ashwell) another six seconds back in third.
It was Fawcett’s first open hill-climb of the season – although he has been riding many road and circuit races in 2017, including victories in the Bob Whitear Memorial Road Race in August and the Kenneth Lush Memorial in July.
Johnson’s victory was her first this season in hill-climbs, but it comes after a creditable third spot in last weekend’s Bec CC climb. This season has seen the 27-year-old from Ipswich win the East District 10-mile championship in June, and finish second in the East District 25-mile championship that same month.
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